Seeing his three elders, Duobao respectfully saluted, “My respects to Eldest Senior Uncle, Second Senior Uncle, and Master.”
The Little Yellow Dragon held up his claws and bowed to them one by one, proving to be a very well-mannered little dragon indeed.
Taiqing nodded slightly. Although his expression remained indifferent, a faint hint of a smile could be seen in his eyes. “Little Junior Sister.”
Yuanshi looked at the two little ones beside her, stepping forward a few paces to size them up. “Not bad. Your cultivations have improved, and you even obtained some merit...”
He looked toward his Eldest Brother. No wonder his brother had agreed to let the Little Yellow Dragon go out back then. So this was the reason... Little Junior Sister truly possessed immense fortune.
Duobao and the Little Yellow Dragon exchanged a guilty glance. To be honest, this improved cultivation of theirs... was very likely piled up from eating too many precious materials.
Heaven knew that once the two of them stepped out the door, they completely forgot about cultivation.
Tongtian nudged closer to Yuan Heng, a trace of a smile on his face. “Little Junior Sister, did you have fun playing these past few thousand years?”
Yuan Heng nodded with absolute honesty. “Of course I did. Duobao and Huanglong were very easy to look after, and they are so thoughtful.”
Duobao nodded like a woodpecker. Yes, yes, Little Junior Aunt, you must praise us like this in front of our Senior Uncles and Master~
Yuanshi glanced sideways at the two cheerful little ones, maintaining a solemn air. “It is well as long as they did not cause trouble for Junior Sister. Thank you for your trouble this time, Junior Sister.”
Yuan Heng shook her head, her tone filled with her usual sincerity. “Not at all, Duobao and the Little Yellow Dragon were wonderful...”
She was about to say more when suddenly, her heart stirred, and her face abruptly darkened.
Oh no, the strand of vitality energy she had left for Daoist Hongyun had been activated. The direction was the North Sea... It was Kunpeng.
Seeing her face turn unsightly in an instant, the eyes of the Three Pure Ones darkened, filled with concern.
“Junior Sister? What is wrong?”
Tongtian was the first to ask, his voice laced with anxiety.
Yuan Heng looked at her three senior brothers. There was no time to explain.
Her eyes filled with urgency, she cupped her hands in a salute to bid them farewell. “Senior brothers, I have urgent matters to attend to. I must leave first!”
Before her voice could fade, Yuan Heng had already transformed into a beam of light, soaring northward at extreme speed.
Daoist Hongyun, hold on! I'm coming to fish you out!
Tongtian was utterly bewildered. “What is the matter with Yuan Heng? To be in such a rush...”
Taiqing closed his eyes to perform a calculation. Before long, he cast a profound look toward the north. “Hongyun's killing calamity has arrived, and Junior Sister has been drawn into it.”
He looked at Tongtian and instructed, “The situation in the North Sea is chaotic. Tongtian, go and protect Junior Sister on her way.”
Kunpeng, the Demon Race, the Blood Sea... and who knew how many others were coveting it in the shadows. It was not wise for Junior Sister to go alone. To be safe, someone had to watch over her.
Hearing this, Tongtian arched his brows, a sharp edge flashing between them as he casually replied, “Understood.”
With that, he set off to chase after Yuan Heng without looking back.
Once he was gone, Yuanshi looked at Taiqing, who remained silent beside him, and pursed his lips. “Eldest Brother, Hongyun has been tainted by the mortal world's killing calamity... I fear his prospects are grim this time. Even if Junior Sister and Tongtian go, it will likely be in vain.”
Taiqing shook his head gently. “In the grand scheme of things, there is always Heaven's will.”
The Heavenly Dao is supremely just. Hongyun... will have his own opportunity.
Tongtian only caught up with Yuan Heng after traveling tens of thousands of li. “Junior Sister Yuan Heng, wait for me.”
“Eh?! Senior Brother Tongtian?”
Tongtian stood on the cloud, panting heavily. “Eldest Brother... asked me... to accompany you...”
Yuan Heng's eyes lit up. That was fantastic! If she ran into conflict with them later, she wouldn't have to shout “Master, help me!”
“Then thank you, Senior Brother! Let's hurry!!”
“Wait, wait...”
Poor Tongtian had not even caught his breath before he was dragged away by Yuan Heng at breakneck speed in the next second.
Over ten thousand li of sea-clouds flashed past in an instant, and they finally arrived at the North Sea.
The sky over the North Sea was dark and gloomy... Howling cold winds blew, and muddy waves crashed against the sky, presenting a highly ominous sight.
Yuan Heng led Tongtian to the place where she sensed her vitality energy had ultimately vanished.
Lingering in midair were fragments of shattered Dao base spiritual light, dissipating blood-colored immortal Qi, and the endless, ferocious killing intent left behind by a great battle... Hongyun had already fallen.
Above the vast North Sea stood a lonely, desolate figure—Zhenyuanzi was already there.
“Hongyun—”
With bloodshot eyes, he roared toward the heavens, his entire body radiating an unsuppressible grief, as if he had lost his whole world.
Looking at him, Yuan Heng could not help but feel a tinge of sorrow in her heart. Tongtian stood silently beside her, his eyes filled with mixed emotions.
“Sigh...”
Yuan Heng shook her head and sighed softly. She slowly approached, her voice carrying a hint of comfort. “Daoist Zhenyuanzi, do not grieve. Daoist Hongyun still has a chance of survival.”
“Is that true!?”
Zhenyuanzi's voice was filled with shock and pleading, as if grasping at a final lifeline. “Daoist Yuan Heng, please save Hongyun! No matter what you request, I will grant it!”
Yuan Heng nodded slightly, her tone laced with certainty. “Daoist Hongyun lived a life of virtue. The Heavenly Dao is supremely just... naturally, it will leave a sliver of hope for him.”
“Watch me.”
As she spoke, the spiritual rhythm around Yuan Heng surged violently. Her Grand Dao of Life unfurled instantly, enveloping the entire area in a gentle, vast, and endless Dao rhythm.
She lightly raised her delicate hand. While forming hand seals, she searched within her Dao for that Primeval Spirit which should have been preserved by her vitality energy.
Very quickly, within the vast void, those tiny specks of spiritual light belonging to Hongyun, which were invisible to the naked eye, were suddenly frozen by a gentle yet majestic force...
Guided by Yuan Heng, countless shattered, drifting, dim, and nearly extinguished soul-threads gathered and merged.
Gradually, they formed a human shape, condensing bit by bit into a hazy, crimson-tinted soul body.
Staring at the familiar figure before him, Zhenyuanzi abruptly moved closer. He raised a trembling hand, looking as if he desperately wanted to touch but did not dare.
“Hongyun...”
His voice was choked with emotion, yet filled with a stunned relief. Thank goodness, his Primeval Spirit was still here; his dearest friend still had a sliver of life left.
Yuan Heng raised her eyes, looking at Hongyun's Primeval Spirit which was still missing a piece, and fell into deep thought.
Wait, why is it still missing a piece?
She nudged her clever little brain. Drawing from her past life's experience of reading countless web novels, could the missing fragment of Hongyun's Primeval Spirit be inside his Nine-Nine Soul-Scattering Gourd?
So here was the question: where was the gourd?
She had read before that it seemed to have escaped into the void. So...
Yuan Heng looked up at the Heavenly Dao and decided to employ the most rustic and unadorned method to find it. She bent her waist and cupped her hands, her small face filled with a flattering grin.
“Master, your disciple wants the Nine-Nine Soul-Scattering Gourd~”
Tongtian and Zhenyuanzi: “...”
Wait, she is just demanding it like that?
Would Master/the Dao Ancestor actually give it to her?
Yet in the very next second, a red gourd abruptly emerged from the void, dropping right next to Yuan Heng's hand.
“...”
The almighty beings watching from the shadows were utterly dumbfounded. Although they had long known that the Dao Ancestor cherished his youngest closed-door disciple immensely, they never expected him to spoil her to such a ridiculous degree.
So, all she had to do was ask, and he would just hand it over?
Rate on N.U.
